The man and woman who died in a Portland apartment fire last month have been identified.
Nicole Niehoff, 45, and 40-year-old Jake Millett, both of Portland, were inside the St. Lawrence Street apartment building when the blaze began about 2:17 a.m. on Sept. 21, according to Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
When firefighters arrived, they found heavy flames on the rear porch of the four-unit building. The flames spread from the second-floor rear porch to the interior, causing significant damage.
While most of the residents escaped, Niehoff and Millett were found dead inside.
Their bodies were taken to the Maine medical examiner’s office in Augusta. Moss said Thursday that the medical examiner had positively identified both Niehoff and Millett, whose deaths are considered suspicious.
Investigators believe the fire was accidental and cannot rule out discarded smoking material as the cause. The fire began on the second-floor back porch that led to the apartment where Niehoff and Millett were found, Moss said.
